Contributors

Monday, February 15, 2016

Hey pallies, likes welcome to the day after Dino-amore day 2016 here at ilovedinomartin. While we are likes totally totally thrilled that our deeply deeply Dino-devoted pallie Danny G. happily and heart-fully handled this year's Dino-amore day post 'cause it fell on his weekly Danny G.'s Sunday Serenade With Dino post, we also want to share with all youse Dino-philes somethin' most Dino-special as well as sorta special on this day after Dino-amore Day.

Likes, what we have chosen to share in the hugest of huge homage of our most beloved Dino is a replay of our down under pallie Mr. Joshua Meggitt's most marvelous magical radio programme tagged, "Dean Martin - The Later Years, on Max Headroom" on Aussie Radio..."3RRR FM's." As we tagged it in earlier scribin's here at ilovedinomartin we said, "an hour long radio programme that is a marvelous mix of '70's and '80's Dino-croons and choice audio recordin's from our Dino's later work on both the small and big screens..."

We gotta 'fess that over and over 'gain we clicks on the link and listen to pallie Joshua's most lovin' of lovin' Dino-programme...often as background when we do our almost daily google Dino-blog searchin' for more potent posts to share here at ilovedinomartin. Truthfully we are absolutely awesomely addicted to Mr. Meggitt's excellent efforts and can't ever get's 'nough of our Dino croonin' tunes likes "Party Dolls And Wine" and "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" to name just two of our fav of favs shared on the radio programme. Youse too can groove on this extraordinary effort on Joshua's part by CLICKIN' HERE DUDES!

What we share below is Meggitt's personal blog sharin' on his Dino-jams at his boldly beau-ti-ful blog tagged "...As Though The Shame Would Outlive Him." He most coolly tagged his powerful post, " We were most pleased, at the time, and still are, that he gave a superb shout-out to ilovedinomartin in his swank scribin's

Likes once 'gain, we sends Mr. Joshua Meggitt our awesomest of awesome appreciato for his perfectly potently powerful absolute adulation of our one and only Dino that we thinks is the perfecto post of Dino-amore on this day before the day of Dino-amore 2016! To checks out pallie Joshua's wondrously wise words in their original format, simply clicks on the tag of this here Dino-report.
Always Dino, Always, DMP

Thursday, 28 May 2015

Dean Martin - The Later Years, on Max Headroom

More belated and perfunctory posting. I recently presented a special on the later years of Dean Martin for 3RRR FM's Max Headroom, which can be streamed here . There I celebrated what I find to be Dino's most interesting period, a strange world of almost intentionally lacklustre recordings, a melange of stale Tin Pan Alley standards, big band, country and sixties bubblegum pop that, in the late 1970s, sounded particularly incongruous. Ironically such product could also only come from the 1970s.

Here is the blurb for the show:
Over his long and varied career, Dean Martin, "The King of Cool", was a heart throb, crooner, film star and leading member of the rat pack.

He was also known as "The Laziest Man In Showbiz", churning out countless albums of stale standards and hosting formulaic, TV specials for over 40 years.

On Max Headroom this week, Joshua Meggitt explores this lacklustre Dino, playing choice filler from his later albums, with excerpts from such cinematic highlights as The Cannonball Run 2
By focusing on the later years, I intentionally avoided his younger, more well known material, the stuff of nostalgia shows and Scorsese films, and went straight to the end: his lazy, resolutely uncool, critically condemned, and now long forgotten (if ever paid attention to) final years. It's a world of strange, almost studied mediocrity, so mindlessly middle-of-the-road that hearing it now, its quite unlike all other music. Exemplary is "Old Bones", the opening song from his final album, 1983's The Nashville Sessions:

Today, Dean Martin is largely remembered as a lazy, lackadasical Frank Sinatra, a Las Vegas self-parody, his reputation resting on a few comedies he made with Jerry Lewis, and some charming pieces of pop fluff that once topped the Hit Parade with retro “lounge” revivals and appearances in mafia films. Even by the later years of his own career, his early days as a global, charismatic romantic icon are long forgotten… and yet I can’t look away! This song is so stupid, but I love it: "Love Thy Neighbour" from 1978's penultimate Once in a While.

The main appeal with Dean Martin was his carelessness, a quality I've even managed to get my four year old to appreciate. He was, as biographer Nick Tosches dubbed him, the ultimate menefreghista - one who just doesn't give a fuck.Or, going further, what contrarian commentator and Oxbow singer Eugene Robinson describes as outright violent misanthropy.

Dean Martin’s vocals say one thing to my ears: FUCK YOU!

The more I listen, the more I agree. Hostility and scorn for both his material and his audience is clearly expressed in his reading of "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'", from the wonderfully titled, My Woman My Woman My Wife of 1970. Essentially a ballad about the pain of breaking up, listen to Dean laugh as he delivers the line, "I cry myself to sleep each night", as though the very concept of him feeling heartbreak is absurd:

The ilovedinomartin Dean Martin fansite blog got wind of the program and promoted it heavily. Check out their kind words here but here's an excerpt:

Hey pallies likes are we in for the hugest of huge Dino-treats as today, as promised we share our newest pallie, down under dude Mr. Joshua Meggitt's coolest of cool "celebration" of our Dino....an hour long radio programme that is a marvelous mix of '70's and '80's Dino-croons and choice audio recordin's from our Dino's later work on both the small and big screens...

We gotta 'fess up that we grooved on each and ever moment of this purely potent programme of passionate appreciato for our King of Cool. We particularly loved listenin' to a number of croons from our Dino's last al-b-um, "The Nashville Sessions." And, we couldn't 'gree more with Josh that these particular croons really are remarkably revelatory of our Dino's life and times at that point...truly these croons form a stellar set of Dino-teachin's!!!!!

We coulda goes on and on, 'bout the wonderful mixin' of Mr. Meggitt's Dino-reflections with our Dino's singin', but likes we wants youse all to enjoy this amazin' programme lovin'ly presented by in-the-know Dino-holic Mr. Joshua Meggitt.

We salute Josh for this tremendous tribute to our main man and for encouragin' his audience to develop a deeper understandin' and relationship with of our Dino by readin' Nick Tosche's Dino-bio, "DINO: Living High In The Dirty Business Of Dream. And thanks ever so much to pallie Josh for even givin' a nice shout out to our humble little Dino-blog, ilovedinomartin. for doin' our part to promote his Dino-special.

I'm sorry I don't get the like for this fella. Yes he played Dino on his show and songs that aren't often heard on radio. But anything he says himself or reads from a critic is a put down of Dean. And his research is wrong on at least two things. The Mr. T clip was from a 1984 roast. Long after the Dean Martin Show went off the air. The "laugh" he says is at the begining of It Keeps Right On Hurtin'(from the album My Woman, My Woman, My wife) isn't even in that song track. The song track 'Once A Day' on the same album is where the "laugh" is in the opening line. And it's more to get the point across in the song that the person telling the story really can't believe this is and has happended to him. Not as this fella is saying that Dean is somehow deliberatley trying to ruin songs and make them ubelievable.

I know Dean was well past his prime by the mid 70's up to retirement but to say he didn't care or was telling the audience to "f" off anytime he performed is just foolishness. And shows a complete lack of respect for a career that spanned some 50 years or more.

Hey pallie, likes DeansPalley no worries man...we sorta knew that we would hear from you 'gain when we posted Joshua's programme. We obviously don't see thin's your way when it comes to Meggitt's comments. We do hear the "laugh" in It Keeps Right On A Hurtin' while we also know that the Mr. T clip is a miss step on Josh's part. We digs how Meggitt captures our Dino's care free do it his way style and certainly don't thinks he is puttin' our most beloved Dino down, simply diggin' his style. We so appreciate your honest thoughts, and as our Dino sez, Keeps those cards and letters....and comments comin'!

Thank you DMP, so many incredible postings this February and this was very special as always. What an amazing career this man has had, there are so many stories, videos and peoples opinions on the most talked about entertainers of all time.

Hey pallie, likes thanks youse Scotty....what a powerful pleasure we are havin' as we watch you grow deeper and deeper in your devotion to our one and only Dino! We are enjoyin' ever so much listenin' often to Josh's hour of huge homage of our most beloved Dino! Keeps lovin' and sharin' our most most beloved Dino!